JP2003175014A - Method for determining cause of fault in medical device, and medical device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To simplify the determination of a cause of a fault which occurs in a magnetic resonance (MR) device. <P>SOLUTION: In the method for determining the cause of the fault which occurs in an MR device (1) during the operation of the MR device (1), data required for analyzing an event proceeded inside the MR device (1) before the occurrence of the fault are stored in a first temporary data storage device (3) for a determined time and after the occurrence of the fault, contents in the first temporary data storage device are transmitted to a second data storage device (4). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for investigating the cause of a failure occurring in a medical technology device during operation of the medical technology device. Furthermore, the present invention relates to the configuration of a medical technology device for investigating the cause of a failure occurring in the medical technology device.

[0002]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The complexity of medical technology equipment, which is understood as medical technology equipment, medical technology systems and medical technology equipment, is due to the increasing proportion of software in the equipment.
There is a constant increase in the functionality of the devices and also by the fact that various medical devices are electrically connected to one another, for example in the workplace. As a result, when a failure occurs in such a complex medical technology device, it is difficult to find the cause of the failure. Moreover, the problems that occur are often sporadic in nature and are not easily trackable. The same is often true of the testimony of the customer or the user of the medical technology device regarding the failure occurring in the medical technology device. Therefore, finding the cause of a failure is usually expensive and time consuming. This is because the workers who are entrusted with the removal of obstacles have to work on the assumption of strength.

For imaging devices having an X-ray tube unit, a method has been provided in which some information or reports available to the system regarding the operation of the X-ray tube unit are stored in a writable storage device. It is already known (for example, refer to Patent Document 1). The stored operation information of the X-ray tube unit is used for criticality analysis for tracking the operation process and failure history of the X-ray tube unit.

A solution and system for solving on-line problems in a customer's data processing system by means of a central remote maintenance system is known from another document (see, for example, US Pat. No. 6,058,037). In this case, a series of hardware devices and software devices work together in a customer data processing system and a central remote maintenance system, which are connected to each other by an integrated transmission device, from the occurrence of a failure in the customer system to the resolution of the failure. A continuous course is created.

[0005]

[Patent Document 1] German Patent Application Publication No. 10057626

[Patent Document 2] German Patent Application Publication No. 68920462

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The object of the present invention is to provide a method and a medical device of the type mentioned at the outset such that the investigation of the cause of a disorder is simplified.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the invention, a method-related object is a method of investigating the cause of a fault occurring in a medical-technical device during operation of the medical-technical device. The data required for the analysis of the events that have elapsed in the first temporary data storage device is stored for a predetermined time, and the contents of the first temporary data storage device are stored in the second temporary data storage device after the occurrence of the failure. It is solved by transmitting the data to the data storage device. That is, according to the present invention, data is stored continuously during operation of the medical technology device that allows for analysis of events within the medical technology device. If a failure occurs in the medical technology device, the stored data can be used to determine the cause of the failure without making a hypothetical guess. Based on the stored data, it is possible to reconstruct the operating state that the medical technology device had before and during the failure, and systematically determine the cause of the failure of the medical technology device. You can

The data necessary for the analysis of the event in the medical technology device is stored in the first temporary data storage device for a fixed time. For example, the first temporary data storage device may be configured to store the operational data of the medical technology device for half the operating time of the medical technology device. In this case, the storage device is a FIFO (first-in first-o).
ut) operating in principle, only data corresponding to the actual event in the second half of the operating time of the medical technology device is temporarily stored in the first temporary data storage device.

The contents of the first temporary data storage device are transmitted to the second data storage device after the failure. In this way, the entire contents of the first temporary data storage device are stored in the second data storage device and, as a result, an analysis of the events in the medical technology device that have been taking place before and during the occurrence of the fault. It becomes possible to do. Unless the failure occurred is one that prevents continued operation of the medical technology device,
The medical technology device is continuously activated and the data necessary for the analysis of events in the medical technology device is subsequently temporarily stored in the first temporary data storage device. That is,
In such a case, even if the second failure occurs, the first
The content of the temporary data storage device is transmitted to the second or third data storage device after the occurrence of the second failure, and the cause of the second failure can be determined based on the data stored as a result. it can.

According to a variant of the invention, the transmission of the contents of the first temporary data storage device to the second data storage device is initiated manually or automatically. Manual initiation of the transmission of the contents of the first temporary data storage device is always taken into account when the operator monitors the operation of the medical technology device. As soon as the operator finds the incorrect operating mode of the medical-technical device, the operator initiates the transmission of the contents of the first temporary data storage device to the second data storage device, for example by operating a start key. Let If no operator or observer is assigned to the medical technology device, the transfer of the contents of the first temporary data storage device to the second data storage device is mainly initiated automatically and occurs within the medical technology device. The actuated data is compared with the target actuating data of the medical technology device and, if the deviation is notable, the transmission of the content is started.

According to a variant of the invention, the data necessary for the analysis of events in the medical-technical device are data which reproduces the operating state of the medical-technical device, a dynamic register, for example an operator of the medical-technical device. Data, data or actions generated by a medical technology device, and image data and video data generated by a display or medical technology device.

According to another variant of the invention, the contents of the first temporary data storage device or the contents of the second data storage device are transmitted to the computer of the service center. In this way, an expert who is not in front of the location of the medical technology device, ie the working place, can perform a remote analysis of events in the medical technology device based on the stored data, which can remotely cause the failure. Can be investigated. For example, by interrupting a revised program to a medical technology device, especially software faults can be removed remotely, so the cost of service work in the medical technology device can be significantly reduced by reducing the number of dispatch of service technicians. . Therefore, visits to medical technology devices usually
It is only needed if there is a hardware failure in the medical technology device.

According to a variant of the invention, the operating data of the medical technology device stored externally, that is to say the operating data on the storage device medium which is external to the medical technology device, is used to analyze events within the medical technology device. For rereading into a medical technology device or into a device similar to the medical technology device. Therefore, with a medical technology device or a device that operates in a similar manner functionally, an event in the medical technology device before the occurrence of a failure is checked in stages on the device itself or on a similar device, thus determining the cause of the failure. It becomes possible to investigate.

In accordance with the present invention, a problem with the device is that of the events that have occurred within the medical technology device prior to the occurrence of the failure in order to determine the cause of the failure that occurs within the medical technology device during operation of the medical technology device. A first temporary data storage device for storing data required for analysis for a determined time, and a second data storage device for transmitting the contents of the first temporary data storage device after the occurrence of a failure Is solved by a medical technology device having

Therefore, the medical technology device thus formed continuously and temporarily stores data representing the operating state of the medical technology device, and as a result, when a failure occurs during the operation of the medical technology device, the failure occurs. It is possible to analyze these data in order to investigate the cause of. The transmission of the contents of the first temporary data storage device to the second data storage device can be initiated manually by switching on the operating device as described above. Also, if the computer of the medical technology device monitors the operation of the medical technology device and finds a fault, the second content of the first temporary data storage device is detected.
It is also possible to automatically start the transmission to the data storage device.

In order to analyze the contents of the first temporary data storage device or the contents of the second data storage device remotely, ie at a location different from the operating location of the medical technology device, the medical technology device is connected to a communication network. The contents of the data storage device can be transmitted to the computer of the service center through this communication network. According to another variant of the invention, the medical-technical device has an interface through which data stored externally, that is to say data transmitted to a service center, for analysis of events in the medical-technical device. For this purpose, it is read again into the medical technology device, so that the cause of the failure is determined by the stepwise processing in the medical technology device itself.

[0017]

An embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying schematic drawing of a medical device according to the invention, by means of which the method according to the invention can also be carried out.

In this embodiment, the medical technology device is the magnetic resonance device 1. This magnetic resonance apparatus 1 carries out examinations on patients, not shown in detail. The magnetic resonance apparatus 1 has, as is known, an operating device (not shown in detail) for operating the magnetic resonance apparatus 1, an operation menu, and a display 2 capable of displaying an image obtained by the magnetic resonance apparatus 1.

As shown, the magnetic resonance apparatus 1 includes a first temporary data storage device 3, a second data storage device 4 and a computer 5. The computer 5 is connected to a communication network 7 such as the Internet through the first interface 6. Similarly, the computer 9 arranged in the service center 8 is also connected to the communication network 7. In this embodiment, the service center 8 is operated by the manufacturer of the magnetic resonance apparatus 1 and provides service operations for medical technology devices sold or rented to customers by the manufacturer. In this embodiment, the service center 8 provides service work to the worker of the magnetic resonance apparatus 1. The magnetic resonance apparatus 1 has, in addition to the first interface 6, a second interface 10 which is, for example, a serial interface or a parallel interface to which a computer can be connected.
Have. Through this second interface 10, externally stored data for analysis of events in the magnetic resonance apparatus 1 can be read into the magnetic resonance apparatus 1. In this embodiment, a laptop 11 of a service engineer (not shown) belonging to the service center 8 is connected to the connection cable.

First, during the operation of the magnetic resonance apparatus 1, the data necessary for later analysis of events in the magnetic resonance apparatus 1 in the event of a fault are stored in the first temporary data storage device 3. Are continuously stored temporarily. That is, the magnetic resonance apparatus 1
If a failure occurs during the operation of the device, the cause of the failure can first be determined on the basis of the data stored during the operation of the first temporary data storage device. A FIFO (first-in first-out) principle is used especially for temporary storage so that an unnecessarily large amount of data need not be temporarily stored. This means that in the first temporary data storage device 3 only the actual data is temporarily stored for a determined time. In this embodiment, data belonging to an event in the magnetic resonance apparatus 1 in the past approximately 30 minutes is temporarily stored in the first temporary data storage device 3.

Finally, when a failure occurs in the magnetic resonance apparatus 1, an operator (not shown in detail in the figure of the magnetic resonance apparatus 1) operates the switch 12 to operate the first temporary data storage device 3 The transmission of the contents of the above to the second data storage device 4 can be started. Therefore, in the second data storage device 4, there is data regarding the event in the magnetic resonance apparatus 1 including the failure result for the past approximately 30 minutes as described above.

However, the transmission of the contents of the first temporary data storage device 3 to the second data storage device does not necessarily have to be performed manually by operating a switch, but can be automatically performed by the computer 5. Is also possible. In this case, the computer 5 monitors the actual operating data of the magnetic resonance apparatus 1 for the occurrence of a fault, and when the fault is found, for example, the data is outside its permissible range.
The transmission of the contents of the temporary data storage device 3 to the second data storage device 4 is started. In this case, the data stored in the data storage devices 3 and 4 are data for reproducing the operating state of the magnetic resonance apparatus 1, data input by an operator through a dynamic register such as a keyboard or other operating device, and magnetic resonance. The data generated by the device 1, or in particular the action after input by the user, the display of the magnetic resonance device 1 and the magnetic resonance device 1
Image data or video data generated by.
Therefore, the video image, the patient image, the input instructions and the statistical data are used for the analysis of the cause of the failure, so that the operator who searches for the cause of the failure causes the operator of the magnetic resonance apparatus 1 to generate the failure. The video and patient images seen before and during development can be observed, and what input the operator has made and what results have occurred can be tracked.

Two different data stores, a first temporary data store 3 and a second data store 4
The principle of applying is to the magnetic resonance apparatus 1 when a failure occurs that does not necessarily require stopping the magnetic resonance apparatus 1.
The magnetic resonance apparatus 1 can be operated continuously so that the data necessary for the analysis of events therein are continuously stored in the first temporary data storage device 3. In the event of a second failure, the last 30 minutes of data stored in the first temporary data storage device 3, either manually or automatically initiated by the computer 5, is stored in the second data storage device. It is transmitted to the device 4, and the cause of the second failure can be investigated later. Such data regarding the second fault is, of course, stored in a storage device portion different from the data regarding the first fault.

The data stored in the second data storage device 4 or likewise the first temporary data storage device 3
For the analysis of the data stored therein, these data are transmitted to the computer 9 of the service center 8 via the communication network 7, so that service technicians not shown in detail in the diagram of the service center 8 The cause of the failure that occurred can be investigated from the service center 8. Thus, if the fault is not a malfunction of the hardware components of the magnetic resonance apparatus 1 but the fault lies, for example, in a software component, the fault is remote, i.e. remote, for example from the service center 8, specifically a computer. From 9, only new software or new software components are removed by being interrupted through the communication network 7 and the interface 6 being interrupted by the magnetic resonance apparatus 1.

If the obstacle is a hardware-related obstacle that requires the entry of a service technician into the operating location of the magnetic resonance apparatus 1, the service technician can, for example, be equipped with a laptop 11 The top 11 interfaces the data transmitted to the service center 8 with the interface 10
It is possible to interrupt the magnetic resonance apparatus 1 again through, and directly trace the events leading up to the occurrence of the failure in the magnetic resonance apparatus 1, find the cause of the failure, and eliminate the cause of the failure. In this case, there are important data for each fault in the data storage device 4 of the magnetic resonance apparatus,
If it is available to service technicians,
No need to interrupt data.

In order to investigate the cause of the trouble in the magnetic resonance apparatus 1, it is not always necessary to interrupt the data into the magnetic resonance apparatus 1 again when the data is stored outside. Rather, the data is interrupted by a device similar to the magnetic resonance apparatus 1, for example, a magnetic resonance apparatus having a functional mode similar to that of the magnetic resonance apparatus 1, and the cause of the disorder is determined. Finally, since this result is transmitted to the magnetic resonance apparatus 1, it is possible to prevent future failures.

The invention has been described above with the example of a magnetic resonance apparatus. However, the present invention is not limited to the magnetic resonance apparatus, but can be applied to other medical technology devices such as a computer tomograph.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Magnetic resonance device 2 display 3 First temporary data storage device 4 Second data storage device 5 computer 6 First interface 7 Communication network 8 service centers 9 computers 10 Second interface 11 laptop 12 switches

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Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. A method for investigating the cause of a failure occurring in a medical technology device (1) during operation of the medical technology device (1),
The data needed for the analysis of the events that have occurred in the medical technology device (1) before the occurrence of the fault are stored in the first temporary data storage device (3) for a determined time, The method for investigating the cause of a failure of a medical technology device, characterized in that the contents of the temporary data storage device are transferred to the second data storage device (4) after the failure occurs. 2. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the transmission of the contents of the first temporary data store (3) to the second data store (4) is manually initiated. 3. The transmission according to claim 1, wherein the transmission of the contents of the first temporary data storage device (3) to the second data storage device (4) is automatically started. Method. 4. Data are generated by status data, dynamic registers, input data, data or actions generated by the medical technology device (1), display of the medical technology device (1) and / or by the medical technology device (1). 2. The data is video data.
The method according to any one of 1 to 3 above. 5. Method according to one of the claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the contents of the data storage device (3, 4) are transmitted to the computer (5) of the service center (8). 6. The stored data is re-read into a medical technology device (1) or a device similar to the medical technology device (1) for analysis of events in the medical technology device (1). The method according to claim 1, wherein: 7. In order to investigate the cause of a failure that occurs in the medical technology device (1) during the operation of the medical technology device (1), the event that has occurred in the medical technology device (1) before the failure occurred A first temporary data storage device (3) for storing data required for analysis for a determined time, and a content of the first temporary data storage device (3) transmitted after a failure And a second data storage device (4). 8. An operating device (12) for initiating the transfer of the contents of the first temporary data storage device (3) to the second data storage device (4). 7. The medical technology device according to 7. 9. A second data storage of the contents of the first temporary data storage device (3), wherein the actual operating data of the medical technology device (1) is monitored for the occurrence of a fault and when a fault is found. 9. Medical device according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that it has a computer (5) which automatically initiates the transmission to the device (4). 10. Data generated by status data, dynamic registers, input data, data or actions generated by the medical technology device (1), display of the medical technology device (1) and / or generated by the medical technology device (1). The video data is video data.
10. The medical technology device according to any one of 1 to 9. 11. A connection to a communication network (7) is possible, and the contents of the data storage device (3, 4) can be transmitted to the computer (5) of the service center (8) through the communication network (7). Medical device according to one of the claims 7 to 10, characterized. 12. An interface (10) for reading stored data back into the medical technology device (1) for the analysis of events in the medical technology device (1). The medical technical device according to any one of Items 7 to 11.